Elevation Church

Elevation Church
Elevation Ballantyne
LocationCharlotte, North Carolina
CountryUnited States
DenominationNon-denominational
Previous denominationSouthern Baptist
Weekly attendance14,000
Campuses20
Websiteelevationchurch.org
History
FoundedFebruary 2006 (February 2006)
Clergy
Senior pastor(s)Steven Furtick and Holly Furtick
Laity
Music group(s)Elevation Worship, Elevation Rhythm

Elevation Church is an Evangelical non-denominational multi-site megachurch based in Charlotte, North Carolina. Weekly church attendance was 14,000 people in 2023. Elevation has 20 locations.[1] Its senior pastors are Steven Furtick and Holly Furtick.

History

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The church began as a church plant of the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina. Steven Furtick and seven other families from Christ Covenant Church in Shelby, North Carolina, relocated to Charlotte, North Carolina, meeting in Providence High School.[2][3][4] On February 5, 2006, the first Sunday worship service, 121 people attended.[5] In 2007, it founded the music group Elevation Worship.[6] By 2013, the church's regular attendance had grown to nearly 15,000 people weekly.[7] In 2016, it dedicated a new main building in Ballantyne including a 1,800-seat auditorium. [8] In 2015 and 2017, the church was listed by the Fortune magazine as one of the 100 Best Workplaces for Young Millennials in the United States, particularly for the competence of managers, appreciation of colleagues and diversity. [9] In June 2023, a few days after the Southern Baptist Convention passed a proposed constitutional amendment that would not allow churches that have female pastors to be members, it terminated its membership with the Convention, without specifying the reason. [10]

According to a 2023 church census, it claimed a weekly attendance of 14,000 people and 20 campuses in different cities.[11]

Beliefs

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The Church has a Baptist confession of faith.[12] The Church believes the Bible to be inerrant.

Outreach

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Since 2006, Elevation Church has given more than $10 million.[13] In 2011, a partnership with Charlotte Mayor Anthony Foxx was established to give 100,000 hours and $750,000 to serve Charlotte people in "The Orange Initiative." In 2012, the church completed The Orange Initiative with over 102,000 hours served.[14]

In 2008, Elevation Church gave out $40,000 to members, in envelopes filled with $5, $20, even $1,000, and told them to spend it kindly on others.[5]

In 2012, Elevation Church launched an initiative calling for members to mentor children for the 2012–2013 school year, with over 1,600 responding.[15] The school outreach program was criticized in local LGBT media, with some former LGBTQ members of the church saying that they were discriminated against and that the church’s policies on LGBTQ rights are too vague.[16] As an affiliate of the Southern Baptist Convention, the church is prohibited from acting to “affirm, approve, or endorse homosexual behavior.”[17]

In 2020, Elevation Church partnered with NASCAR driver Joey Logano through his foundation to establish a $1 million COVID-19 Response and Recovery Fund.[18] Elevation also collaborated with the Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina, giving away 17,000 meals to people in need during the COVID-19 pandemic.[19]

Love week

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Since 2010, Elevation Church has hosted a week-long outreach called "Love Week."[20] During the church's 2010 "Love Week," Elevation members packed more than 10,000 sandwiches for the homeless, helped single mothers get their cars serviced, donated blood, cleaned up parks and streets, built a soccer field for local ministries and renovated buildings.[21] In 2011, Elevation and over 25 other local churches served more than 34,000 hours in a single week.[20] In 2012, Elevation partnered with 31 other churches to serve 62 outreach organizations for a total of 50,340 hours around the city of Charlotte, N.C. Elevation also partnered with Presbyterian Hospital-Matthews to help fund enhancements and expansion at a local free clinic.[22] During Elevation's 2021 Love Week, the church had 22,651 volunteers help for a total of 47,465 hours, serving 314 organizations with 1,588 total events. Elevation Church donated US$1.6 million to outreach partners, while the volunteers made 2,200 baby care kits, 5,600 dignity kits for women and teens, 21,000 backpacks for students, and distributed 30,900 snack packs.[citation needed]

Spontaneous baptisms

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In 2014, Elevation Church was criticized over its so-called "spontaneous baptism" services, which often rendered several hundred to several thousand in a given week. Much of the basis for the criticisms related to a manual produced by church leadership, entitled "Spontaneous Baptism How-To Guide." It included various logistics involved to support such spontaneous baptisms, as well as the practice of selecting volunteers to be the first to respond to a call of baptism.[23]

In response to the coverage, Steven Furtick replied in a sermon that "'I'm Too Scared of God' to Manipulate Baptisms."[24] Elevation Church also released a statement, underscoring, "We are confident that those who attend Elevation Church know and understand our mission and vision for reaching people for Jesus Christ. As attendees, they are provided, through weekly teachings, biblical context for everything we do and practice, such as baptism, giving, serving and inviting friends to church."[25]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Locations Archive". Elevation Church. Retrieved 2022-03-06.
  2. ^ Tim Funk and Rick Rothacke, Elevation Church: A different kind of church, thestate.com, USA, January 28, 2014
  3. ^ Brittany Smith, N.C. Megachurch Celebrates 5th Anniversary With Live Album, christianpost.com, USA, November 15, 2011
  4. ^ Norman Jameson (2007). "Growth Burst Elevation Church At The Seams". Archived from the original on 2008-12-03. Retrieved 2008-08-15.
  5. ^ a b Funk, Tim. "A Cool Pastor, and a Hot Church". Charlotte Observer, September 14, 2008. Accessed October 15, 2015.
  6. ^ Luchae Williams, Elevation Worship - Wake up the wonder: Review Archived 2015-05-20 at the Wayback Machine, gatewaynews.co.za, South Africa, March 5, 2015
  7. ^ Joe Marusak (2013). "Elevation Church eyes old Palace Theater in Cornelius for another location". Archived from the original on 2013-06-28. Retrieved 2013-05-16. The church, which serves nearly 15,000 people weekly,...
  8. ^ CPM, Peak Performance: Elevation Church Launches New Broadcast Hub, churchproduction.com, USA, November 15, 2016
  9. ^ Fortune, 100 Best Workplaces for Millennials (2018); Leonardo Blair, Elevation Church Makes Fortune's 2017 National List of 100 Best Places to Work for Millennials, christianpost.com, USA, June 29, 2017
  10. ^ Bob Smietana, Southern Baptists lose another megachurch: Elevation Church quits the SBC, religionnews.com, USA, June 30, 2023
  11. ^ Outreach Magazine, Elevation Church, outreach100.com, USA, retrieved November 2, 2023
  12. ^ "Beliefs". Elevation Church. Retrieved 2023-03-14.
  13. ^ Watson, Stuart. "I-Team: How a pastor built a multi-million dollar home" Archived 2013-10-29 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved October 27, 2013.
  14. ^ Baxter, Jennifer. "Elevation church keeps growing." Archived 2013-10-29 at the Wayback Machine Charlotte Observer 04 Sept. 2011. Retrieved 2011-10-20.
  15. ^ "Over 1,600 Elevation Church Volunteers Answer Call to Mentor Students". Christian Post, September 25, 2012. Accessed October 27, 2012.
  16. ^ Matsuoka, Sayaka (2019-08-07). "Elevation church's establishment in Winston-Salem causes concern among former LGBTQ members". The NC Triad's altweekly. Retrieved 2021-05-19.
  17. ^ Comer, Matt (December 21, 2012). "Concerns raised as anti-gay Elevation Church makes inroads at local schools". QNotes. Retrieved September 29, 2014.
  18. ^ Cain, Holly. "NASCAR's Joey Logano Finding New Purpose During Break in Racing".
  19. ^ Condon, Bridget (April 16, 2020). "Coronavirus NC: Elevation Church teams with Food Bank to create 17,000 meals".
  20. ^ a b Smith, Brittany. "Elevation, 50 NC Churches to Serve Homeless, Elders for LOVE Week". Christian Post. February 10, 2012.
  21. ^ Kwon, Lillian. "Megachurch Floods Charlotte with Jesus' Love", Christian Post, 19 February 2010.
  22. ^ Smith, Brittany. "Megachurch's LOVE Week Inspires Selflessness in Charlotte". Christian Post. February 20, 2012.
  23. ^ Blair, Leonardo (February 24, 2014). "'It's Not So Spontaneous;' Elevation Church Admits 'Spontaneous' Baptisms Are Well Organized Events But Results Are Genuine". The Christian Post.
  24. ^ Blair, Leonardo (February 28, 2014). "Steven Furtick Rips Critics; 'I'm Too Scared of God' to Manipulate Baptisms, That's Just Sick,' He Says, Then Baptizes 400". The Christian Post.
  25. ^ Bailey, Sarah Pulliam (February 24, 2014). "Megachurch pastor Steven Furtick's 'spontaneous baptisms' not so spontaneous". Religion News Service.
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